Raising Good Kids

Today is the International Women’s Day. Of course it is nice to have a day to reflect upon the many contributions women have made to the advancement and protection of the human race and the world around us. It is hard to imagine that 100 years ago American women still were not voting. We’ve come [...]

Tomorrow my baby turns 1. This is my fourth first birthday, so I should be a pro at this by now. But, I can’t help but feel so emotional. Up until the age of 1, they are all my babies. But, after that they enter the toddler zone and life is never the same. So, [...]

Ugh. I just watched the Nationwide commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. The one that generated so much buzz for being…well…a buzz kill. As I watched the wretched thing, I prayed for the thousands of families who have suffered the loss of a child due to accident. How many of them tuned into the [...]

Ben. Oh, my sweet lil Ben. At nearly 11 months old, the little bugger still won’t sleep 12 hours through the night. He goes down around 7 and usually wakes for a big snack around 4:30 am. It used to be much, much worse. Like, waking up four times a night worse. What changed? A [...]

Living in the city with four kids requires a bit of sacrifice. We don’t have a big back yard or a spacious basement. Everyone doesn’t have his or her own bedroom. Minimal storage space means that we can have minimal stuff. But…living in the city with four kids also means we have world-class cultural events [...]

After I posted yesterday about my internal debate over when to allow my kids to walk the 0.4 miles from school to home without an adult, I decided to go straight to the source for some answers. So, I called the the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’s child and family policy office in [...]

Yesterday I read an article about a couple being investigated for child neglect for allowing their 10 and 6 year olds to walk home together from a neighborhood park. The couple defends their decision, saying they’re responsible parents who are teaching their children self-reliance and responsibility. For so many reasons, I side with the parents on [...]

We recently celebrated Ben’s baptism. The little man was six months old, and so it was time to celebrate his life with our family. It turned out to be a really lovely day, and I think baby Ben soaked up all the love and peace. Baptism means different things to different people. I don’t believe [...]

Now that it is getting cooler here in the city, I am on the look out for fun indoor activities – we don’t want to be cooped up in the house all weekend! This morning I took Evie, Mack and Vivian to see Leo Lionni’s “Frederick,” a new musical at the Chicago Children’s Theatre. It [...]

We aren’t halfway into September, but it feels like winter is moving in to Chicago. While we haven’t turned the heat on (yet), we’ve been tempted. Three of the six of us have runny noses, and all of us want tea to drink every morning. Winter is coming. Sigh. This morning was particularly chilly, so [...]

Homemade Mothering is a movement that aims to simplify life and foster self-reliance while being kinder to our families and the planet. Its about encouraging people to get back to the basics when it comes to mothering and homekeeping.